Starship Troopers Evolution

[bunkerboi]

Well I must admit that coming home from holidays to this was a bit of a shocker and trying to read hundreds of posts to try and work out what was going on was too much for my addled brain last night. A good nights sleep and four coffees later though and I think I have a better idea of what is happening...

...and I give it a big thumbs up!

Last night I might have been ready to fly to the UK and US and strangle both Matt and Alex but now I think this could be a great thing for the hobby. Admittedly I am coming from a retailers perspective but with $15k of SST stock on the shelves and more in transit I'm not making this decision lightly. My view is based on two simple points:

1. If quality control improves and the rules are cleaned up a bit then that has to be a good thing for most gamers.
2. How many times have you fought against armies fashionably painted in white metal or trendy black undercoat? Some people just don't paint their armies and I know of more than a couple who are flat out even assembling them.

Time will tell of course and all this stock now has me a bit nervous but I'll be sticking with the 'goose and continue tell everyone I know that I'm supporting SST. Just my 2c less tax anyway 8)

 

[tneva82]

If this is true then it explains how Mongoose is so certain of the quality of the painting (ie there actually isn't a painter who might have an off day!)

Would certainly sound like plausible theory. Matt hasn't exactly told us how they are prepainted but actually painting over model isn't actually new thing that has only now been possible(which is what Matt has told. That this is new thing which has come possible only recently) so certainly computer-controlled "painting" sounds like what it might be.

I don't know for sure but I would be willing to put a bet that it's something like that yes.

 

[Rob_A]

Whoa there

These models are not being cancelled. We're planning to release the Speeder and Heavy Speeder later this month along with the Skinnie Soldier Heavy Weapons blister.

As for the Venerable Marauder, we have a couple of tweaks to make to the final master and then this too will see the light this year. There are a bunch of other releases coming out over the next 3-4 months as well.

I have a Skinnie army that's been waiting for these models as well!

Nows as good a time as any for me to mention my apologies for being smart-arsed about your wife . Just don't stand over me all scary like ever again .

I reckon Alex could take Chang, unless hes like uber tall AND well built.

 

[GreyDL]

yeah I saw that and had the mental image of little pakistani children painting the models but it didn't sit right with the fantastic models and Matt's certainty over the quality.
Plus it didn't mesh with "high-tech", so this seems plausible.
Some cool computerised process done in say China for cheaper labour costs.

The first mental image I had on the subject is that they machine-paint to some degree and maybe have the little pakistani children only do touch-ups/detail.

Has there been anything on mold lines? I absolutely hate mold lines on minis. If the pre-painteds have them I would have to clean/touch up anyway

I hope they release the production pre-paint paint schemes early too. I'm just starting painting my MI, and it would be nice to have them in similar colours. Currently undecided whether I should go standard military olive green or swat blue.

 

[Rob_A]

I'd suggest olve green as they will be similar.
I doubt Matt is harsh enough to allow any kind of cheap forced labour. The worst would be adults doing it, but at the right price over there. Enough to feed a family etc...
I will probably not get them until I fully know how they are done.

 

[lastbesthope]

I doubt Matt is harsh enough to allow any kind of cheap forced labour.

I dunno, he took you and Reborn in for some work experience :lol:

And in my book, Alex and Ted would never get into a fight, but if they did, my money would be on Ted. The man does not know how to lose.

LBH

 

[Rob_A]

Ahhh but he did 'pay' us. The same way as Mongoose Infantry, he gave us free stuff .

 

[lastbesthope]

Well that and you weren't forced, you volunteered, just let the joke go next time Rob :lol:

So how exactly did Reborn get docked a shredder out of his 'pay' of Mongoose stock :?: :lol:

LBH

 

[Rob_A]

Im not sure, I wasn't there for that. I'm the smart one secretly, I just make sure I don't touch machinery.

If you let people know your smart, your head will grow to stupidly large sizes.

 

[hamlrt]

Hello there everyone ,
over the last couple of days away....and my how this thread has grown .
With discussions over pianos, music appreciation and so on-......soooooo
passe .
My only and truly honest gripe was that M.P was or is going to cancel and or stop making metal miniatures , as i had visions of a mega paint job on the queen bug ..but i digress .
Will M.P release unpainted metal/plastic miniatures for those of us whom enjoy painting , but not wishing to offend or upset gamers who dont like painting.
And to be honest i dont give a damn if the person on the other side of the table has'nt painted their own figures and has just bought them from a dealer/painter , my point is that ..I HAVE PAINTED MY FIGURES.. its an acheivement that i have made .
I have a small drama on pre-paints , but if thats how its going to go , then so be it . I just really dont fancy re painting , pre paints .
So please mongoose dont let all the painting fans down and please continue to release at least some white metal models for us to paint .
It just concerns me about kiddy-fying a great wargame .
john

 

[VFults]

I'm very much looking forward to the prepainted line. When SST was initially released, I didn't get into it because I wanted to build a LAMI force based on the movie. When Mongoose released the LAMI, I was disappointed that it was a metal set but intended to buy a few boxes and some bugs to get started but medical problems and Hurricane Rita intervened. My time for gaming--much less painting minis--has become very restricted.

Now, I'm glad for the delays; if the prepainted box of LAMI has the same or similar contents as the metal box, including a female trooper or two, and is of the quality shown in the pictures we've seen so far, I'm sold on the game.

Regards,

V

 

[Tallen]

Since it's sort of a side hobby of mine... "On the subject of molding:"

It's been possible to create mini's from the ground up using 3-d printers for awhile; not just sprued mini's, but fully assembled with overhangs that would give regular silicone or steel molds a headache (metaphorically speaking). Some printers can also color what they print, and so could spit out a plastic rainbow. The trouble is, from what I know: it takes awhile to actually print anything, from a couple minutes to a couple hours depending on size. So it would be impractical compared to injection molding (which can spit out sprues in mere seconds, and will hold up to continuous use) unless you had a lot of printers. As of yet, the machines are still very expensive, (an Israeli company makes a household model you *could* buy, about the size of a regular desktop printer), from $30k to $100k (USD) individually.

I do know a British company was working on a 3-d printer that would print out metals in addition to plastic, and therefore a large printer could self-replicate smaller copies (yeah yeah keep AI away from this sucker) which would reduce the initial price. Actual material and maintenance costs are relatively low. But as far as I know that's still in the theoretical stage.

Where was I going with this...? Oh. If Mongoose contracted the services of an eastern company (if I recall, the majority of the world's injection molding and 3-d printing takes place in China and Taiwan) with a sufficient number of printers, that's probably what they're doing since it's about the same price to print colored models as whatever the most basic plastic-powder color is for the printers they're using.

 

[fluffy05]

Come on April! Hurry up and get here!